Ella sat in the light of a flickering candle at a table in her common room, sipping a mug of tea. It tasted a bit weird though not entirely unpleasant, something she knew she could grow accustomed to. She tried to quiet her mind which raced with all the possibilities of what could be happening to Davis, but she knew that with Ezekiel, Korlac, and Liarra, he would have all the help he needed to get home safely.
Suddenly, the door to the tavern swung open as Ezekiel strode in, an orb of light guiding his path, with Davis following close behind. A moment later, Liarra and Korlac walked in, though they weren't their normally boisterous selves. Instead, they took seats in the back corner of the tavern, watching intently as the conversation unfolded.
"You know," Ezekiel declared accusingly.
"I know what?" Ella asked, defensive.
"You know about magic, about spells, and most of all you know about Davis."
"Mr. Graystone, I'm not sure I appreciate your tone."
Ezekiel placed the orb of light hovering above the table as he took a seat across from Ella, his tone sharper than he intended.
"I've been walking on eggshells for several days now, trying not to be obvious in my spellcasting, trying not to reveal to you my magic, but you've known all along, haven't you?"
"Well... it was very unlikely you gathered those cords of wood so quickly," Ella admitted.
"And you know about Davis, don't you? That he’s gifted."
"Mom, what's Mr. Graystone talking about?"
Ella stood and hugged Davis while throwing a vicious look in Ezekiel's direction, giving him pause for the first time in his tirade.
"Go upstairs honey, we'll talk later." Ella kissed Davis on his forehead. He was about to protest but seeing her stern look he thought better of it.
Walking over to Ezekiel, he was about to wish him and others a good evening until Ella ordered loudly, "Bed, now!"
Davis ran upstairs with no further interruptions, and once Ella heard his door close she stood up and directed her fury toward Ezekiel.
"How dare you!"
"Excuse me?" Ezekiel retorted.
"How dare you put my son in danger!"
"I told you I've been trying to keep my spellcasting from him since the sheriff warned me..."
"Not that! Letting him know about his heritage!"
An awkward moment passed between them as Ezekiel was finally catching up to where Ella was. She not only knew about magic, she specifically knew that her son could manipulate magic.
"He got it from his father," he surmised.
"Of course. And it was that silliness that got him killed several years ago. I won't let his fate befall Davis."
"He needs training. If his power is innate, it could manifest in dangerous ways if he doesn't know how to control it."
"Training...where?!" Ella asked, waving her hands in frustration around her.
"The Academae..." Ezekiel started.
"Hasn't existed for a hundred years!" Liarra suddenly interrupted, drawing everyone’s attention.
"Were you two planning on spectating this entire fight?" Ezekiel accused.
"For as long as you let us," Korlac admitted as he picked his ear.
"Regardless, he needs training. Such potential shouldn't be squandered on..."
"On what? Wasting away in a simple fishing village?" Ella countered.
"That's not what I was going to say."
"Of course not, but you know what would happen if the Inquisition found out about him? The same thing that happened to Donald, his father. If you're lucky, they just kill you outright. Sometimes, they indoctrinate you, and you become an Inquisitor, doing nothing but traveling and terrorizing poor innocent folk. And the worst, the young ones, you know what happens to them?!"
Ezekiel shook his head, his body tense from the argument.
"They eat you! By the old gods, they eat them, Ezekiel. They eat the kids who they think have magic so they can gain a portion of their power. I won't let that happen to Davis, I won't let any of that happen to him, just because you think he needs training!"
Ezekiel squeezed his eyes shut, forcing down horrible memories of the war that lingered at the surface of his mind. He wasn't sure what to say, or if he could say anything.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize..."
Ella was about to snap back at him, but she was interrupted by a loud deep bell clanging outside. It reverberated deeply, but persistently, its location slowly moving closer to the village.
"No....no!" Ella screamed.
Korlac and Liarra stood up and ran to the windows, watching with their guard raised. Outside, a procession lumbered into Greencoast, taking up the entire road. Multiple ornate wagons of red and silver were surrounded by men in flowing white robes with red accents, carrying metal scepters and staves, all topped with a silver idol of a creature with horns. Leashed to the wagons were several savage undead, trudging mindlessly as their soulless eyes searched the surroundings. Guards followed the perimeter of the wagons on all sides, armored over their robes, scimitars sheathed at their belts.
"Guess they were ahead of schedule," Liarra commented dryly as she continued watching the procession pour into town.
"That's a lot..." Korlac said, his grip tight on his peace-tied falchion.
"Yeah... that is a lot. They don't normally have... Hells! Is that a grand inquisitor?” Liarra snapped.
Ezekiel ran to the windows. Walking in the middle of the procession was a woman in fancier garb, her robes more elegant and detailed than the rest, with a staff that glowed brightly at the top, the eyes of her idol a fierce and fiery red hue. Strapped to her back was a large, double-edged sword, well used by the look of the grip. She wore a white mask depicting a featureless human face.
"Rejoice, oh citizens of Greencoast. Though the hour is late, our arrival is something to be celebrated! Let all those who swear allegiance to the crown and our holy king, the divine Tal'Dar, Walking Prince of the Abyss, exit your homes now and take a knee to be judged worthy!" The masked woman said in a loud, echoing tone. Ezekiel recognized that she was using some kind of magic to project her voice throughout the village.
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From the various homes in Greencoast, several citizens exited, all wrapped in fear, some shaking violently, as they each took a knee. Priests came over to them, waving scepters and staves around as they spoke unholy words, invoking ancient divine magic.
"Liarra...?" Korlac asked in a deep fearful tone.
"Only one thing we can do. Out the back and through the forest. Most of the procession can't follow us out there," the alchemist said as she weighed the situation.
"Davis!" Ella called her son, knowing he hadn't gone to sleep yet.
Walking to the front door as her son walked slowly down the stairs, Ezekiel grabbed her arm, shaking his head in disapproval.
"You can't."
"What choice do we have? What choice do any of us have? They rarely come, but when they do, you have to submit. Otherwise..." She looked at her son standing nervously next to her.
Onyx paced anxiously around the table, the large cat's eyes locked determinedly on Davis, though she made no effort to interfere.
"Go, there's a door back behind the bar. If you're going to run, do it now before anyone notices you're here and you bring more trouble," Ella hissed as her hand was on the tavern door.
Ezekiel nodded and ran to the back with Korlac and Liarra, already squished together on the other side of the bar. The other two were frantically checking their gear, making sure they had everything they needed to make a quick exit as Ella and Davis stepped outside the tavern, taking a knee just outside the building near the front of the inquisitors.
"Where's your bag?" Liarra asked, tightening her own pack as she straightened her leather jacket.
"I have everything I need." Ezekiel said, his eyes locked on the door.
"Where?"
Ezekiel patted his jacket on the outside of his dimensional pocket.
"If you say so. Is your pet coming with us?"
"Her name is Onyx, and yes, she'll be coming with us."
Onyx stood in the common room, her eyes also locked on the door Ella and Davis had just exited.
"Does she know that?" Korlac asked as he opened the rear exit of the tavern leading to the back. Just as the door creaked open, the grand inquisitor's voice could be heard again, rising higher than before.
"Ella and Davis Larner! Last we visited your family we found a heretic amongst you!"
Liarra hissed at Ezekiel as Korlac was already outside. "Come on, we've gotta run!"
Ezekiel remained locked in place, listening to the grand inquisitor. Despite his agnostic nature, the summoner whispered a silent prayer.
"Imagine my disappointment to learn upon our arrival, thanks to the help of the devout citizens of Greencoast, that not only are you harboring another heretic in your abode, but that your son has followed in his father's footsteps!"
"Nooooo!" Ella screamed loudly as priests grabbed Davis by his arms, dragging him away towards one of the wagons.
"Well, that's most unfortunate..." Ezekiel muttered as Onyx began pacing again, growling loudly at the door.
Turning to Liarra, Ezekiel straightened his jacket and brushed the sleeves, making sure he was presentable. "Go. This isn't your responsibility."
"It's not yours, either!" Liarra hissed.
"It is, in more ways than you know."
Walking from around the counter and out the front door with Onyx following close behind him, Ezekiel stepped next to Ella at the front of the tavern, placing a hand on her shoulder. The priests holding her back released her arms and stepped back, reaching for swords held under their robes but not yet drawing them. Davis was kicking as well, but the robed guards carrying him away paused momentarily at Ezekiel's presence, stopped by the raised hand of the grand inquisitor.
"Ahh, the foreign heretic himself approaches. Kneel, as the others do, so we may discuss your surrender."
"Will you release the boy?"
"What was that? Your accent using our tongue is painful to my ear. Once more, please?" The inquisitor asked loudly as she held a hand to her ear.
"The boy, Davis. Release him, and I will go with you wherever you want."
Holding her glowing staff tightly, the grand inquisitor straightened her posture, making broad gestures to accentuate her presence. It was difficult to make out any of her features as she was obscured by her robe and the expressionless mask.
"We have it on good authority that the boy is gifted, much as his father was. We will see to it that his nature is weighed, and fate determined accordingly."
"He's got nothing to do with this. Let him go and you can take me, one of the last moon elves in Terrial. I'm sure I'll be a grand trophy for the Inquisition. Tal'Dar might even give you a reward if you present me to him."
The mention of the king's name with no honorific titles irked the woman as she began pacing back and forth in the procession.
"You try to bargain with the Inquisition!? What arrogance. What insolence! What blasphemy!"
Ezekiel remained calm and collected as the guards of the procession began to surround him. The leashed undead stirred restlessly, their attention turning to the summoner as well. The guards held their weapons yet did not draw, waiting for commands from the grand inquisitor. Onyx hissed loudly, raising her hind haunches, her metallic fur standing on end.
"Here's what's going to happen, heretic. You will come with us, or we'll torch this town and kill every single person here. We're taking you, and we're taking the boy, and the lives you save today belong to everyone here. Anything short of that, and their blood is on your hands!"
Ezekiel reached up and unbuttoned his collar, loosening his dress shirt under his tailcoat. "Third option..." Ezekiel whispered just before he swirled his hands in quick practiced motions, a purple glowing arcane summoning circle appearing a few feet from him as a rocky figure began emerging.
**********
In the back of the Firefly Tavern Korlac paced anxiously as Liarra impatiently closed the large wooden door behind her.
"Idiot is going to get himself and everyone else killed!"
"What's going on? Where's the blue guy?" Korlac asked.
"He's gone out to talk to the Inquisition."
"Is he gonna die?"
"Probably, yeah."
"Is Davis gonna die?"
Liarra paused, craning her neck up to look Korlac in the eye. Despite his monstrously large size and skill with a blade, she knew he was a soft-hearted, especially when it came to kids.
"Korlac, there's nothing we can do now. We need to run," Liarra explained as she started heading into the woods. She made it just a few paces when she noticed Korlac wasn't following her, and instead was staring intently at the tavern. The voice of the inquisitor could be heard loudly even on the other side of the building, her voice dark with intent.
"She's going to kill both of them."
"Korlac..."
"She's going to kill Davis."
"We don't know that for certain."
Korlac drew his falchion, easily ripping the peace knot to shreds that held the hilt in place. The blade sang as it was freed from the scabbard, glinting in the moonlight in Korlac's large, tensed hands.
Liarra ran up while moving her goggles into place over her eyes. She hissed her words, hoping to get through to her brutish friend.
"There's too many and she's the grand inquisitor. Even if that silly moon elf can do some magic tricks, there's no way we're going to defeat an entire procession like that!"
The inquisitor's speech rose to her final ultimatum, spurring Korlac toward the front of the tavern, his falchion already raised.
"By all the dead gods above and the hells below!" Liarra hissed as she followed him, sinister green vials already in her hands.
***********
At the first ringing of the procession bell Drez rolled out of his bed in a panic. The announcement from the grand inquisitor sent him scrambling to the shadows surrounding his shack on the docks. He was easily hidden due to his size and relative nimbleness. He had disappeared many times before, sometimes from drunk sailors looking to pick on him late at night, or when Greggory was trying to squeeze more money from him with new charges for his continued use of the shack. Drez knew how to blend into the shadows, and he did it well. In fact, he planned on riding out the entire visit from the Inquisition, untilhe heard Ella and Davis's names called out.
Sneaking on limber legs, Drez moved from one darkened corner to another, never lingering under the moonlight, as he drew closer to the front of the procession. There, he saw Ella and Davis kneeling before the tavern just as robed guards grabbed Davis and dragged him away.
Tears ran down Drez's face as he desperately wanted to help, but knew he could do nothing. Watching Ella being held back by the priests as Davis was dragged away filled the little goblin up with more rage than he'd ever felt before. Even more than the times Greggory made him fight for money against newly docked sailors.
Drez leaned in from the shadows, near one of the guards, and was just about to lunge forward to try and free his friend, when the tavern door slammed open, and the elf walked out. Davis spent several hours trying to convince Drez of how amazing the elf was, but to the water goblin he was just another traveler coming through town. Sure, the elf had money and shared it freely with both of them, but Drez just saw Ezekiel as a dandy. Nothing stood out to him as impressive, until he watched the moon elf walk up and address the grand inquisitor.
Drez saw the guards react to Ezekiel's presence, closing ranks as they held their swords at the ready still in their scabbards. Seeing an opportunity when the guard immediately in front of Drez reacted slower than the others, Drez grabbed him and covered the guard's mouth with his hand, stifling his reaction and pulling him into the shadows.
The guard was momentarily confused, and was just about to call for help when Drez shoved a bony knee up and into the man's chin, rocking his head back sharply, knocking him unconscious. His knees bent as Drez used all his strength to silence the guard’s fall. Drez dragged the man into the deeper shadows, tucking him behind a crate in the alleyway as he watched on further.
The blue-skinned moon elf seemed to stir up the grand inquisitor more, and Drez leaned in, ready to leap into action again if the opportunity presented itself.